


Afraid of the Dark

by historien_vil_huske_oss



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drarry, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, draco deserves a redemption arc, draco is afraid of the dark, harry needs time to forgive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:34:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26502985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/historien_vil_huske_oss/pseuds/historien_vil_huske_oss
Summary: Students return for their eighth year at Hogwarts. Everyone needs time to heal, but the healing could lead to stronger friendships and some unexpected relationships.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 10
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fic with multiple chapters  
> i'm not sure how many chapters it will end up being  
> i'm going to try to update at least once a week  
> i hope you enjoy!

Hogwarts is different after the war. They still sort students into houses, but they aren’t nearly as divided as they used to be. The houses are used for quidditch matches, but students aren’t forced to room with their own houses. In fact, it is often encouraged for students to make it work with the student they are assigned to room with, which is rarely someone of their own house.

This is the Hogwarts that Harry returns to for his eighth year. He had decided that he wanted to come back to finish his final year at Hogwarts. As he steps into the Great Hall, he knows that everything has changed. He knows that nothing is the way it was, but he wants to be able to go back to the place that had been his first real home. 

He walks over to what was once the Gryffindor table and finds Ginny and Luna already there.

“Hi, Harry. You look well.” Luna’s voice soothes Harry’s nerves. He hadn’t realized how much he missed her. They weren’t as close as he had been with Ron and Hermione, but Harry considered Luna one of his truest and closest friends.

“It’s good to see you again, Luna.” Harry turns and smiles at Ginny. “Good to see you, too, Ginny.”  
  


She returns his smile and nods. They are no longer together, but they are still polite to one another. Neither of them harbor any negative feelings towards the other.

Harry sits next to Luna and watches as more people begin to file into the hall. Some people sit at their original house tables, and others find themselves sitting next to new friends on opposite sides of the hall.

Harry feels a body hit him from behind.

“HARRY!” Hermione’s voice rings in Harry’s ear. “I can’t believe you’re here before us! Maybe if Ron had packed sooner like I told him to.” She lets go of Harry and turns to look at Ron who is now standing behind the seat next to Harry.

“Oi, I was doing my best! You were rushing me.”

Hermione rolls her eyes and turns back to Harry.

“How are you?” She rests her hand on his shoulder, and Harry’s lips curl into a small smile.

“I’m doing better than I thought I would be. It’s strange, being here, but being here with you all,” he pauses, turning to look around at the friends surrounding him, “you all make things feel much more normal.”

Ron takes the seat next to Harry, and Hermione walks around the table to sit across from Harry.

“Have you seen anyone else?” Harry asks, turning to Luna.

“No, not really. I saw Neville for a moment, but he disappeared in a crowd of fourth years.”

Harry faces his back to the table, looking out at the students before him. Some of the students were on the frontlines of the battle with him. Others don’t look familiar at all. 

He sees a group of eighth-year Slytherins standing by themselves. They look anxious, out of place.

“What’s going on over there?”

“Oh,” Luna leans in, “those are some of the students whose parents were supporters of You Know Who. A lot of them are scared that people are going to hate them. Most of them came back to fight though, you know? They fought with us. A lot of students don’t realize that, but a lot of the Slytherins were fighting on our side.” She sighs and places her head in her hand. 

Harry looks at them once again, mind wandering. He can hear the chattering of students. There are snippets of discussion of the war coming through, but most students seem to be focusing on the year ahead of them. Several students are missing. Some died in the war, and some chose not to come back to Hogwarts.

Harry understands not wanting to come back. A part of him really didn’t want to come back. He was afraid of what memories would flood him, how his mind and body would react to being back here. He wasn’t sure what to expect. But there was a stronger part of him that needed to come back. He needed to see Hogwarts the way he saw it when he first arrived in his first year. He didn’t want to remember Hogwarts only as the sight of the war, but he wanted to remember it as the home he once knew and loved.

Suddenly, the voices around him stop. Harry comes back to reality, looking around to find the source of the quiet. His eyes fall on the entrance to the Great Hall. There he stands, platinum blond hair and slytherin robe. Draco Malfoy.

Harry freezes at the sight of him. He knows that in a way, Malfoy was just like him. He was forced into a position of the war that he probably didn’t want to be in. But Harry can‘t help the fire that lights inside of him when he locks eyes with Malfoy; he can’t help that anger that warms his skin. He holds Malfoy’s gaze until the blond looks away.. 

“He looks so sad.”

Harry nods subtly at Luna’s comment, staying silent as he watches Malfoy walk to the end of the old Slytherin table. He turns back to face his friends, trying to put his old enemy out of his mind.

*****

McGonagall waves her hand and envelopes appear in front of each of the students.

“In front of you, you will find your room assignments for this year. Unlike previous years, you will not be rooming with people of your house. Instead, you will be paired up with one other person from a differering house. There may be exceptions, but please try to make things work with your roommate.” She moves in front of the podium, clasping her hands in front of her torso.

“Please remember to take care of each other. This is our first year back,” her gaze shifts down, “and we will need to lean on each other for support. Let us help give Hogwarts the feeling it used to have before tragedy struck. I am so glad to see all of you here. Enjoy your feast” She gives a soft smile and turns back to the table lined with professors. 

Once she sits, food appears on all of the tables, and students begin to fill their plates. Ron opens his envelope and reads off the name. “Justin Finch-Fletchly, Hufflepuff.” He shrugs and slips the notecard back. 

Hermione follows and reads, “Luna Lovegood, Ravenclaw.” She lifts her head and smiles at Luna. 

“Oh! I’m so glad I’m going to be staying with someone I know! We can have such a wonderful time.” She begins talking with Hermione, and Harry looks down at his envelope, the sounds of his friends’ voices disappearing into the air.

His hands grab the envelope and slip it open. He pulls out the notecard, flips it over, and almost drops the slip of paper. Hermione’s voice slips through the cloudy wall his mind had put up.

“Harry? Are you okay? What is it?”

His mouth barely slips out the words scrawled on his notecard. “Draco Malfoy, Slytherin.”

“I’m sorry, what? Have they gone mad, pairing you with Malfoy?” Harry now hears Ron’s voice cutting through. “Bloody hell, there’s no way,” and just like that Ron’s voice has disappeared once again.

Without thinking about it, Harry finds himself turning around at the table to spot Malfoy. He sees him sitting on the end of the table, not speaking to anyone. His envelope is also open, and the slip of paper is hanging loose in his hands. They make eye contact, and just before Harry breaks away, he swears he can see Malfoy whisper the words “ _I’m sorry.”_

*****

Hermione and Luna are walking ahead of Harry and Ron, and Harry can hear the two talking about the classes they are looking forward to.

“Mate, how are you going to room with Malfoy for the year?”

Harry sighs and looks down at his feet. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Harry? Have you gone mad? The guy was terrible to you for years.”

“Not really. I mean, he was, but it wasn’t all directed at me.”

“Still, you can’t tell me that you think this is going to go well.”  
  


“I don’t know, Ron. I just have a feeling that things are going to be different. Maybe not immediately, but something feels different.”

Luna and Hermione break off with a wave, heading toward their room. Soon after, Ron turns to the direction of his room. “Good luck, Harry.” Harry responds with a small wave before he sticks his hands into his pockets. 

He slowly makes his way through the corridors, his head tilted slightly downward. When he glances up, he sees Malfoy walking toward him. Harry pauses briefly, his breath hitching.

They reach the door at the same time, standing in silence for a moment.

“Potter-”

“Don’t. Let’s just go inside.” Harry opens the door and leads them into their room.

Draco hesitates before he follows, shutting the door softly behind him.

*****

The two of them are unpacking their bags, each of them staying on their sides of the room. The quiet is almost deafening, but Harry refuses to speak to Draco. His mind can’t seem to come up with the proper words to speak to him, so he chooses to just keep quiet.

Draco, on the other hand, wants to try to clear the air.

“Look, Potter, I know that I was a shitty person-”

“Yeah,” Harry mumbles.

Draco looks up at him. “But, I truly do want to apologize. I know it might not mean shit to you, but I really am sorry. I don’t want to make excuses for the things that I did, but I want you to know my side of it. If there’s ever a time where you’d be willing to hear me out, I would really appreciate it.”

It almost sounds like Draco is trying to get it all out before Harry has the ability to angrily interrupt him. Harry wants to give him a chance, but it’s just too soon.

“I’m sorry, Malfoy, but I’m just not ready.”  
  
Draco nods in response, continuing to unpack his side of the room.

*****

Once the two of them have finished emptying out their suitcases, they both get into their beds for the night. Harry shuts the light off, but soon after, he finds that Draco has created a small ball of light next to his bed.

“Malfoy, turn that off.”

“No, Potter, it helps me sleep. Just turn over.”

“It’s too bright, Malfoy. Why the hell do you need a light?”

“I told you, it helps me sleep.” Draco turns his back to Harry.

“I can’t sleep with that light, Malfoy, shut it off!”

Draco throws his sheets off his bed, standing up. “Fine. Sleep well, Potter.” There’s a bitterness that Harry can hear in his voice. He watches Draco leave the room, the ball of light disappearing with him. 

There’s a twinge of guilt that Harry feels crawling up his stomach, but he is able to easily repress it. “I don’t know what the big deal is. He just has to make things difficult,” Harry mumbles to himself. He turns to his side, trying his best to fall asleep, but he is very aware of the empty bed on the other side of the room.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry isn't very observant, and Hermione has to help him out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and kind comments are always appreciated!

Harry wakes up to a still empty room. He puts on his robes and makes his way to the Great Hall for breakfast. He enters the hall and finds Hermione sitting at the table reading her potions book. Harry quietly takes the seat next to her.

“Good morning, Harry.”

“Morning.”

His quiet and short response makes Hermione look up at him, her eyebrows furrowed. “What’s wrong with you? You haven’t even had a class yet.”

Harry gives a small smile and a sigh. “I’m not sure. Malfoy wasn’t there this morning.”

“What do you mean?” She has now turned to face Harry completely. 

“He left last night. Disappeared.” Harry looks at his hands. “He had this light on and- I don’t know. But he left. And he wasn’t there this morning.” 

“Maybe you should talk to him,” Hermione says as she turns back to her book. She looks over at him once more and says, “You have to actually talk to someone to be able to understand their actions and what they’re thinking.” She ends with a small chuckle and fills her plate before returning to her book.

*****

Harry heads to potions with Hermione after breakfast. The two of them enter the classroom and find Professor Slughorn standing at the chalkboard. They take their seats and wait as the rest of the students file into the classroom.

Harry watches as Draco slips into the room, his head low, but his walk is confident. Harry sees Draco take his seat next to Pansy. He smiles as he sits, but Harry can see that the smile doesn’t feel quite genuine.

Draco is holding himself high, like he would before the war. His face, though, looks defeated and tired. Harry tries to make eye contact with him, but Draco carefully avoids his eye, instead focusing on the book in front of him.

Harry sighs and turns back to the front of the classroom, returning his attention to Professor Slughorn, who has now started class. 

*****

Harry and Draco are sitting in their room working on their assignments for class. The only thing Harry can hear is the scratching of Draco’s quill on his parchment. 

They haven’t spoken since the night before when they argued about Draco’s light. Harry pauses his assignment every couple of minutes. He feels the need to address the situation like Hermione suggested, but he isn’t sure how to go about it. He decides to just start a conversation.

“Uh-” he clears his throat. “Malfoy?” The sound of the quill against parchment abruptly stops, but Draco doesn’t turn around.

“You said you wanted to tell me your side of the story.” Harry shifts in his chair to turn towards Malfoy, and he starts to pick at the skin around his nails. “You can tell me if you want. I don’t know how long it will take me to forgive you, but I want you to be able to share your side of it.”

Draco turns to look at Harry. He slowly sets his quill down and turns his chair. He coughs before taking a deep breath. Their eyes meet for a moment before Draco moves his line of sight to the right of Harry.

“Right, well, I want to start off by saying I know I was an arsehole. I’m aware of that. I have no excuse for how I treated you, especially in our early years.” His eyes shift downwards. “I thought I was superior because of my family. That’s all I had learned. And I was wrong.

“I’m no better than anyone else. In fact, you could argue that I’m worse, given how I treated everyone.” His eyes lock with Harry’s. “But people don’t realize that I didn’t have a choice. I was forced into being a Death Eater. I didn’t want to disappoint my family. I wanted to save my family. I was on the wrong side of things.” Harry watches as his face falls.

“I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I do want you to know that I’m trying to be a better person. I’m working on myself. I don’t want you to feel sorry for me; that isn’t the point of me telling you all of this. I want you to know that I’m aware of how horrible I was. You didn’t deserve that. No one did.”

Draco turns around before Harry has a chance to react. He hears Draco’s quill start writing again, and he sees Draco leaning over his parchment.

“Malfoy, listen,” Harry says as he stands up. “I know that we’ve never really been friends.”

“That’s an understatement.”   
  
Harry smiles and continues, “Even though we’ve never been friends, that doesn’t mean that I don’t care about you. We all survived this war, and we all did what we had to do to survive. Don’t get me wrong, we aren’t suddenly best friends just because you recognized you’ve been a complete arsehole, but I’d like to start over.” Harry is now standing next to Draco, and he sticks his hand out. 

Draco doesn’t look at Harry. Instead, he looks at Harry’s hand and smiles. He takes it, looks up at Harry, and says, “I’m Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.”

“Harry Potter.” Harry returns to his seat and finds himself smiling. He knows that this is going to take time, but it feels good to be able to start over.

*****

It’s been a few weeks since the beginning of the school year. Harry and Hermione end up eating breakfast with each other most mornings. This morning is no different. Harry walks into the Great Hall to find Hermione, but this time, it feels as if she was specifically waiting for him to arrive. It sends a feeling of nervousness through him, but he proceeds to the seat and sits down beside her.

“Honestly, Harry, you need to be more observant.” She turns to face him and rests her head on her hand, leaning on the table.

A confused look crosses Harry’s face, and he pauses for a moment. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Where has Malfoy been sleeping?”

“What does that even mean, Hermione?”

“It means, where has Malfoy been sleeping for the past however many weeks?”

Harry stares at her before he slowly responds with, “In his bed?”

“My point. You’re not observant at all.”

“Please, Hermione, just tell me what’s going on.”

“I was in the library last night, and I saw Malfoy. He had fallen asleep in one of the chairs with a lamp on next to him.”   
  


“Maybe he was just studying,” Harry states, adding a shrug.

“Harry, there weren’t any books with him. Remember when he had the light on that you wanted him to turn off?”

Harry nods in response, starting to fill his plate up with food.

“Harry, I think he’s afraid of the dark,” she whispers, lowering her head to get closer to Harry.

“Afraid of the dark?”

“Think about it, Harry. The ball of light, leaving your dark room, sleeping with a lamp in the library? That makes the most sense. You should talk to him about it. He shouldn’t be sleeping in the library every night, Harry.”

“I didn’t know,” Harry says with a quiet voice, turning his attention back to his food.

“Now you do.” Hermione leaves him with his thoughts as she turns back to her books.

*****

Harry continues the day, barely focusing on what is happening in his classes. He gets back to his room, and Draco is already there. The two of them work in silence, and every now and then one of them will break the silence to ask a question about their classes. 

Harry gets into bed while Draco is still working on his assignments.

“Sorry, I can go to the library to work.” Draco starts picking up his things, but Harry interrupts him.

“Malfoy, it’s late, just go to bed.”   
  
Draco hesitates before he sets his books back down on his desk. He sits on his bed and stares out the window. “No, it’s okay. I don’t want to keep you awake.” 

“Wait-” Harry sits up. “What’s going on, Malfoy?”

Draco pauses before mumbling, “Nothing, Potter, it’s fine.” He stands up, but Harry follows.

“No, tell me what’s going on. Hermione said that she saw you sleeping in the library. Why aren’t you sleeping here?”

“Because you don’t want to see the bloody light!” Draco snaps. “You complained about the light, but I can’t sleep without the light. Without it, I’m reminded of home. Dark and cluttered. It adds to the nightmares.” Draco sighs and sits back onto his bed, his head falling into his hands. “I need a way to feel safe.”

“Fine. But I can’t sleep with that bloody light shining in our room, so move over.”

“What-” Draco stutters as Harry crawls onto his bed.

“I said move over.” Harry flips over the sheets and gets under. Draco stares at Harry, who is now making himself comfortable in Draco’s bed.

“What are you doing, Potter?” 

“Well, being in the presence of others has made me feel safe. So, I’m going to lay in your bed with you, that way we can both get some decent sleep. Now, time to go to bed, Malfoy, c’mon.”

Draco freezes for a moment before he slowly gets under the sheets. With a flick of his wand, the two of them are plunged into darkness. 

Harry can hear Draco’s breathing; he can hear his heart beating faster the moment the light flicks off. Harry turns over to face Draco.

“Just close your eyes. I’m right here. I know it might not mean much, but I promise that you aren’t alone. You need to sleep, Malfoy.”

Harry watches as Draco’s eyes close, and he sees Draco’s mouth move as he tries to slow his breathing. Harry can hear as Draco calms down, and soon the pair of them have fallen asleep in the darkness of their room.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco is trying to make amends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and kind comments are always welcome!

Harry wakes up to find Draco’s spot in the bed empty. He assumes that Draco must have snuck back down to the library once Harry fell asleep. He had truly thought that having someone next to him might help. It had helped Harry.

When they were still dating, Ginny would sleep next to him every night to help ease the nightmares from the war. It didn’t make them go away. He would still wake up in the middle of the night screaming and sweating. It would take him hours to fall back asleep, if he was lucky enough to fall back asleep, but having Ginny there gave him some security. 

Once they broke up, he found himself lying in bed alone, and most nights he would only get a couple hours of sleep a night. It got to the point where he asked Ginny to stay over. He explained it to her, and she stayed with him almost every night. Harry thinks that is part of the reason why they are still friends, and he’s really happy to still have her in his life, even if he doesn’t need her next to him when he sleeps anymore.

Harry sighs and gets dressed before making his way to the Great Hall for breakfast. He passes Ron, who is headed to the library with Luna to study for an exam. As Harry enters the Great Hall, he heads to the table where him and Hermione eat breakfast, but he freezes when he sees who is with her.

Hermione’s posture is closed off, but she seems to be making easy small talk with Draco, who is sitting across the table from her. Harry slowly makes his way over to the table and sits next to Hermione, who smiles and breathes a sigh of relief when he sits.

“Good morning, Harry.” Hermione shifts her legs to face Harry. 

“Good morning.” Harry turns and nods at Draco. “Malfoy.”

“Potter.” Draco stands and picks up his bag. “I need to talk to Professor Slughorn before class. I’ll see you there. Nice to see you, Hermione.”

Hermione gives him a small smile and watches as he walks out of the Great Hall. Once he has left, she turns to face Harry more directly. “What happened last night?”

“What do you mean?” Harry questions as he stacks food onto his plate.

“What I mean is  _ Draco Malfoy _ just sat in front of me and made small talk after apologizing to me. A sincere apology. Where did that come from?”

Harry spreads butter onto his toast. “He apologized to me a few weeks ago. I mean, we aren’t best friends, but it definitely helped clear up some things.” He takes a bite of his toast before continuing. “He might be trying to make amends now that we are getting into the term. He seems genuinely sorry,” Harry adds with a shrug.

Hermione looks at Harry for a moment before she turns and finishes her breakfast.

*****

Harry walks into Charms and takes his seat. He soon finds the seat next to him occupied by Draco. He watches as Draco opens his book and prepares for class.

“Uhm, hello, Malfoy.”

Draco turns to him. “Potter, hi. Sorry, I can move if you want.” Draco starts to close his book, but Harry puts his hand onto Draco’s.

“No, it’s okay. You just usually sit with Pansy.”

Draco shrugs. “She’s decided to sit next to some girl she likes. I figured I might as well sit next to someone who doesn’t completely hate me.”

“People don’t hate you, Draco,” Harry says, with a slightly lowered voice.

Draco freezes for a moment. He takes a small breath before whispering, “I doubt that.” 

Harry starts to say something in response, but he is interrupted by Professor Flitwick starting Charms class. Throughout class, Harry finds Draco staring off into space before quickly snapping himself back to reality. A couple of times, Harry has to nudge Draco to get his attention because Professor Flitwick is demonstrating a spell. 

Once class is over, Harry watches as Draco walks out of the room without talking to anyone. Draco still walks as he did before the war, but he holds his head with less confidence. Harry can tell that Draco holds himself inwards, keeping himself away from others. Harry feels a twinge of sadness run through him, sending a shiver up his spine. He never thought that he would be one to feel bad for Draco, but he does. Harry has gotten to know Draco more in the past few weeks than he ever did in the years they were in school together. 

*****   
  


After classes, Harry meets Hermione and Ron for dinner. He sits across from the two of them. Ron already has a full plate in front of him, and Hermione has finished part of her dinner. The pair seem to be discussing plans for the holidays in the coming months, but the conversation shifts when Harry sits down.

“Mate, Malfoy apologized to me today,” Ron blurts out the moment Harry has set his stuff down.

“Yeah, he’s been doing that.”   
  
“Why are you so calm about this? This is  _ Malfoy _ we are talking about.”

“Yeah, and?” Harry shrugs as he starts eating his meal.

“Hermione? Are you not as shocked as I am?” Ron turns to his girlfriend, his confusion written all over his face.

“He apologized to me this morning, and apparently to Harry a while ago. I’ve had time to sit with it. It’s weird, but I think it’s good.” Hermione finishes the last of her food on her plate and pulls out her potions book. She begins working on her assignment when Harry sees Draco walk into the Great Hall. 

Harry quietly waves Draco over to their table. It takes a moment for Draco to respond, but he slowly makes his way over and sits next to Harry, across from Hermione. Ron gets quiet, but Hermione decides to speak up.

“Hey, Malfoy. I saw you working on the potions assignment the other day. Did you find anything out from that book that Luna recommended to you?”

Draco smiles as he responds to her. “Actually, I did!” He pulls a book out of his back, and he begins talking with Hermione about a new potion.

Ron glances over at Harry, but they all turn to listen to what Draco has to say.

*****

Draco and Harry walk to their room together after dinner. The walk is fairly quiet, other than some brief comments from each of them. Once they reach their room, it’s dark outside. Harry flips the lights on and sits down to work on his work. Draco does the same, but he hesitates for a moment.

“Thank you,” Draco says as he exhales.

“What for?”

“Today. You just- you treated me like a human being. I appreciate it.” He walks over to his side of the room and sits at his desk.

“Draco, that isn’t something you have to thank me for.”

“You’re also calling me Draco.”

Harry was going to continue speaking, but he stops once he fully realizes what Draco says. “Oh, I- I didn’t even notice.”

Draco turns to look at Harry. “It’s nice. Like I said, makes me feel a little more human.” He shrugs and says, “A lot of people aren’t as understanding.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” he takes a deep breath. “I mean that a lot of people are treating me as a traitor, which I understand. It just doesn’t feel great to be walking around a school where everyone seems to hate me.”

“Oh. Well, I promise I don’t hate you. Neither do Ron or Hermione. I think they just need some time.”

“I understand, I do. I appreciate them accepting my apology because I really was an arse to them, especially Hermione.” He smiles, “But she’s been really nice so far.”

Harry nods. “Yeah, she’s pretty amazing.”

They fall into a comfortable silence for a while, until Harry asks Draco about the night before.

“Did that help at all, last night?”

“Yes, after some time, it did start to help.”

“I ask because,” Harry’s voice gets lower, “you weren’t there when I woke up. I had assumed you went back down to the library.”

“No, I got up early so I could talk to Hermione. That’s all.” Draco throws a smile over his shoulder before returning to his work.

Harry smiles down at his assignment, zoning out for a moment. He shakes his head and continues writing his essay for Charms.

*****

Draco finishes his work and steps into the bathroom. While he does, Harry picks up his papers, trying his best to organize them for the next day. He hears Draco come back into the room and sit on his bed. Harry finishes what he’s doing, and he turns around to find Draco in his own bed, facing the opposite wall, but the covers are only covering him. He has left the other side open for Harry.

Harry smiles, changes out of his robes, and gets into Draco’s bed. He flicks the light off using his wand, and he can feel Draco squirm behind him, turning over to stare at the ceiling. Harry flips over and lays on his back, staring at the ceiling with Draco. He places his hands by his sides. Both Harry and Draco are covered by the sheets, and the pair of them are both looking up at the ceiling in silence. 

Harry can hear Draco sniffle in the quiet room. He glances over and notices the moon reflecting off a tear sliding down Draco’s cheek. Harry looks back up at the ceiling and swallows. He reaches over and finds Draco’s hand curled into a fist, tight and clenched. He slowly and gently places his hand over Draco’s. His fist twitches ever so slightly away from Harry’s hand, but it slowly relaxes. Harry feels the back of Draco’s hand against his own, and, before either of them realize it, their hands are resting together. 

Harry gently moves his thumb over Draco’s skin. He whispers, “It’s okay, Draco. It's going to be okay.”


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco needs to start learning to forgive himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the slow update!!! kind comments and kudos are always appreciated <3

The two boys end up falling asleep together in Draco’s bed almost every night. A few nights they have slept in Harry’s bed, but for the most part, the two lay together in the darkness under Draco’s covers. This continues well into the term, and it has helped the two become closer in their friendship.

It’s now Saturday, just a couple of weeks before the holiday break, and Draco and Harry are in the Great Hall eating a late breakfast.

“Look, Harry, I don’t know what to tell you. There’s no way you’re going to get a better score than me in potions.”

“Are you just ignoring sixth year?”

Draco rolls his eyes. “Are you just ignoring the fact that the only reason you did so well was because you were using the professor’s old book?”

Harry’s mouth falls open as he stutters. “I- No- What?”

“Yeah, Hermione told me when we were studying for potions the other day. You really thought you had everyone fooled.” Draco laughs as he shoves another bite into his mouth. 

Harry begins to defend himself when Hermione and Ron sit down beside them.

“What’s wrong, mate?” Ron directs at Harry. 

“What? Nothing,” Harry grumbles as he picks up a piece of toast.

“You should tell that to your face,” Draco snickers, and he ducks to avoid the napkin Harry throws at him.

Hermione and Ron exchange a look before they both turn to the food in front of them. The four of them continue eating until Hermione gasps.

“We should all go to Hogsmeade!” She smiles at the boys and says, “It’ll be good to do something together before the holidays. Please?”

Ron nods while continuing to eat his meal. Harry nods and turns to look at Draco, whose head has fallen. 

“Draco?” Harry says, softly.

“I, uhhh,” Draco quietly coughs and lifts his head. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I can make it. I’ve actually got some work to do for class.” He picks up his bag and stands. “I’ll see you later, Harry.” He raises his hand in a quick and soft wave. “Granger. Weasley.” He nods at both of them, and he turns to walk out of the Great Hall.

“What was that?” Ron asks, fork frozen in the air as he watches Draco leave. 

“I’m not sure,” Harry says. He gives his head a small shake and turns to Hermione. “Do you think Luna would want to join us?”

“I could go ask her!” Hermione jumps up from her seat and heads to her room. Ron smiles as he watches her.

“I can’t believe it took you two so long to get together.”

Ron snaps his head around to look at Harry. “Excuse you? You’re one to talk,” Ron grumbles.

“What do you mean?” 

“Seriously?” Ron looks at him before shaking his head. “Nevermind, mate.”

*****

Harry gets back to his room and finds Draco sitting at his desk. 

“Hey, I got you something.”

Draco looks up from his book to find Harry holding out a bag of salt water taffy.

“What’s this for?” He asks, slowly taking the bag from Harry.

“I just thought you might like something.” Harry walks over to his own side of the room and sets his things down. “Have you been at that since we left?”

Draco looks down at his book and shrugs. “On and off.”

“You should take a break,” Harry says, flopping himself onto his bed. He turns over to look at Draco.

Draco gets up from his desk and sits on his bed, opening the bag of taffy. Harry turns back onto his back and stares at the ceiling, arms and legs spread out across his bed like a starfish. Draco sits on his bed, his back up against the wall at the head of his bed and his legs crossed.

“What happened this morning?” Harry asks, not moving from his spot looking at the ceiling.

“What do you mean?”   
  


“Why didn’t you want to go to Hogsmeade with us? It’s fine, you just got weird after Hermione asked about it.”

Draco sighs and shifts on his bed. He pulls his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. “I just have some negative memories tied with Hogsmeade. I haven’t truly been back since then, and I was just worried. I also didn’t want anyone to feel like I was intruding on friendships.” 

Harry glances over at Draco and finds him with his head resting on his knees, eyes closed.

“Draco.” Harry sits up and faces Draco. “Yes, you were a shitty person. You were a bully. No one is arguing with you there.”

“Are you trying to make me feel better?” Draco asks without looking up. “Because you’re doing a really poor job.”

“Shut up and listen. You were terrible to people, but people were also terrible to you. Hell, even I was terrible to you at times. You were a boy who didn’t have a choice over major decisions in his life. You were tasked with killing Dumbledore by Voldemort. Yes, you could have chosen to be a better person, but now you are recognizing that you were an arse. You want to do better, I can tell.”   
  
Draco looks up and stares at Harry, saying nothing.

“People can grow and change and learn. You’re no different. People are learning to forgive you. You have to start forgiving yourself, Draco.”

Draco responds with a small nod, and he gets up to place the candy on his desk. “Thank you.” It comes out so soft that Harry almost doesn’t hear it.

“For what, Draco?”

“For this,” he says, turning around and gesturing between them.

“You don’t have to thank me.” 

Harry stands up and walks into the bathroom. When he returns, he finds Draco under the covers with a light floating above him. Harry climbs into bed with him, and Harry can hear Draco release a shaky breath. 

Once the light is off, Harry finds himself staring at the ceiling, trying to figure out these feelings inside him. He feels angry at Draco, for the way he treated people, but he also feels guilty and sorry for Draco. Harry almost killed him their sixth year. Draco was forced to kill his headmaster because of the Dark Lord. Harry also can’t help but feel compassion for Draco. Now that he knows him better, Harry does enjoy spending time with Draco. He enjoys being in Draco’s company. Harry slowly falls asleep to his mind racing and the sound of Draco breathing.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the holidays at Hogwarts, but Harry and Draco aren't really longing to leave Hogwarts quite yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, i'm so sorry this took so long to post. i know it ends in an odd spot, but i really wanted to get a chapter out sooner rather than later. i hope you enjoy! <3

The holidays have finally arrived. Harry had thought about going to the Weasley’s for the holiday, but he had decided against it. He just felt like he needed to stay at Hogwarts this year.

“Mum’s going to kill you,” Ron says when Harry tells him that he will not be joining them for the holidays.

Harry rolls his eyes. “No she won’t. She loves me.”

“Exactly!”

“It’ll be fine, Ron. Be sure to tell her that I will come visit. I promise.”

“Just know that if you get a howler, I’m going to tell you that I told you so.”

Harry laughs in response, and turns as Hermione walks up to them. “Are you joining Ron this year?”

“Yes,” Hermione says shyly. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Be sure that Ron tells everyone I said hello.”

“Oi, why do you assume I’m going to forget?”

“I’m not. I just know that Hermione will remember.” Harry winks at Hermione, and she laughs. Harry walks away, waving at them as he does.

*****

When Harry gets back to his room, he finds Draco sitting on his bed, his suitcase only partially packed.

“Are you going home, Draco?”

Draco jumps at Harry’s voice. “Oh, I’m not sure. Doesn’t really seem like a place I want to be right now.”

Harry nods once and sits on his own bed. He glances down at his hands, not sure what to say next.

“My mum is having a hard time. Dad got his sentence just before this term started. I should go home for Christmas, but,” Draco takes a deep breath before continuing, “I just don’t think that I can handle it. That dark, empty house. I just don’t-” Draco lets out a shaky breath. 

“Draco, you aren’t obligated to go home.” 

Draco throws down a sweater that he has in his hands. “It just isn’t fair!” He starts pacing around the room. 

“What isn’t fair?”

“I know I was horrible! I’m trying to be better! Everything just feels like so much. I should want to go back home and be with my mother. I should want to spend the holidays with the remaining family I have. But I don’t!

I want to stay here, avoid the sad eyes of my mother. I feel like it’s my responsibility. I feel like I need to be taking care of her, but then I get worse in my own head. I just want to be able to feel like I’m a normal guy again. I want people to know that I’m getting better, that I’m really trying. I want to be a better person. I didn’t have choices, but I still could have treated people better. And now I’m trying to be! I’m trying to be a better person. I was just so horrible that it’s hard to get people to listen and believe me.”

Draco continues pacing while Harry sits on his bed, listening intently. “I just want to feel… I don’t know!” He sits on his bed, and he puts his head in his hands. 

Harry stands up and walks over to Draco. He puts his hand on his shoulder. “Draco, take a deep breath. It’s going to be okay. You don’t have to go home, and people are going to realize you want to get better. I know you’re trying to be better.”

Harry takes a seat at Draco’s side. “Listen, I’m staying here for the holidays. You stay here too, and we can just have a calm holiday. Most people are going home, there won’t be nearly as many stares. What do you say?”

Draco nods and stands. He starts putting his clothes back where they belong in his drawers.

Harry moves back over to his bed and sits, glancing over at Draco every couple of minutes. Draco throws his trunk back into the corner, not caring that the lid has fallen open. Harry walks over to the trunk, closes the lid, and he places it neatly in its corner. He returns to Draco’s side, looking at him until the blonde looks his way. 

“What, Potter? Why are you staring at me?”

“Oh, back to a last name basis now, are we?” Harry jokes, a smile spreading across his face.

“Shove off.” Draco pushes his shoulder against Harry’s before looking back to his lap. “Why aren’t you going off to the Burrow for the holidays?” Draco says, quietly.

“I thought about it,” Harry flops back onto the bed, his legs still hanging off the side. “I know that Molly and them still want me there, but I just feel like I would be intruding. We’ve lost so many people. Everyone is still coping. I know things can’t be easy, and I just feel like I need to stay away this year.

Maybe if Ginny was still with me, then I would go. I’m still friends with Ron and Hermione, obviously, but it’s just different.” Harry looks up and finds Draco looking at him.

“Why are you staring, Malfoy?”

Draco rolls his eyes, and he lays back onto the bed with Harry. “I know what you mean. It’s been a lot. For everyone.” He sighs and closes his eyes. 

“Yeah, it has.”

Harry’s hand finds Draco’s at his side, and their fingers are soon intertwined.

*****

“Come on, Draco. Let’s go.” 

Draco is blinded awake by the sun coming through his now open window.

“Piss off, Potter.” He rolls over and buries his face in his pillow, clearly desperately trying to fall back asleep.

“Oh, no. I don’t think so.” Harry grabs the blankets covering Draco and rips them away. 

“Merlin, Potter, what?” Draco practically shouts, his voice still groggy and raspy with sleep. He sits up and finds Harry already dressed. Draco’s eyes linger on the ‘H’ knitted into the front of Harry’s jumper.

“Where are you going?”

“Not me, us.”

“Us?” Draco rubs his eyes before glaring at Harry. “What do you mean  _ us _ ? Do you know what time it is?”

“Draco it’s ten in the morning. You’re acting like I woke you up before dawn.”

“You might as well have,” Draco mumbles, sliding out of bed. “What is the appropriate attire?”

“Seriously, mate?”

“Don’t you ‘mate’ me. It’s too early for your shit, Potter. What do I need to wear? You haven’t told me where we are going at this ungodly hour.”

“Oh, stop being so dramatic. Just throw on a jumper; we’re just going to Hogsmeade.”   
  


Harry watches as Draco slides a black jumper and black trousers from his drawer. He disappears into the bathroom, and when he returns, he grabs his green scarf from the hook on his wall. 

“Lead the way.” Draco puts out a hand, waving Harry toward the door. Harry smirks and sees Draco roll his eyes in response, but Harry doesn’t miss the smile tugging at his lips

**Author's Note:**

> [this post](https://auprompt.tumblr.com/post/621497728058490880/day-6-just-imagine) was used to help create the basis of the story


End file.
